Oak & White Barn Doors

The construction is the point. Because the boards run the full height and the bracing does the structural work, the door reads as a solid slab of timber rather than a panelled face, and it takes the knocks that older houses give doors. In oak the grain is the finish; in white primed the board lines still give the door depth once painted, which is why the primed version works in a cottage that has been decorated in a more modern palette.

These doors are generally hung one of two ways. On traditional strap or tee hinges into an existing frame, which is the honest period detail and the usual choice in a barn conversion or a stone cottage. Or on a sliding track across the face of the wall, which saves the swing space entirely and has become popular for en-suites and pantries. Both are straightforward to fit, but they need deciding before ordering because the ironmongery and the door size differ.

Older properties rarely have square openings, which is where most barn door installations go wrong. We measure the opening at several heights before ordering, and scribe on site where a wall is out of true, so the door sits with an even gap instead of a wedge of daylight down one side.